Overview
Rajaram Sankaran is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ Bangalore office, leading the Healthcare & Life Sciences Practice in India. He leverages his rich industry experience and insights across the healthcare and life sciences sectors to help clients build capabilities for sustainable long-term impact.
Experience
Rajaram advises clients across the full spectrum of C-suite functions in biopharmaceuticals, MedTech, hospitals, healthcare services, life sciences, CRDMOs, and private equity clients.
Rajaram has more than 25 years of experience in pharmaceuticals, nutrition, and consumer health. He leads P&Ls and corporate development for MNCs, large Indian pharmaceutical companies, and a bulge bracket PE-invested pharmaceutical company.
Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Rajaram was the chief strategy officer of Torrent Pharmaceuticals, a top-ranked Indian pharmaceutical company. Earlier, he was the group CEO of a Carlyle-invested portfolio healthcare company in East Africa.
Rajaram held various leadership roles with Abbott Laboratories' nutrition and pharmaceuticals businesses, including business unit head, commercial director, and director of strategy and business development.
During his career, Rajaram established new businesses, scaled up and turned around business units, led geographical expansions, launched innovative products that have evolved into large brands, and played a pivotal role in shaping the market.
He designed and implemented new functions, closed transformational deals, and developed high-performing teams, cultivating talent that has grown into leadership positions.
Rajaram has certifications from INSEAD Singapore, Hass School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, and The Leadership Trust, UK.
Education
Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, Postgraduate Diploma
Nagarjuna University, First-Class Bachelor of Science Degree